It's Official: Wii U Production Comes To An End As Nintendo Switch Release Draws Near

There were reports early last week that claimed Nintendo was finally ending production on the Wii U.

Wii U was last known to have sold 13.36 million units globally, which is a far cry from the forecasted figure of 100 million units.

Nintendo denied the reports last week, claiming that there was no change to the continuing production of the console. However, according to a new report, Nintendo has now made the end of production for the Wii U official.

Nintendo Wii U Production To Stop Soon

Kotaku spotted at the official Japanese website of Nintendo that production for the Wii U has been scheduled to end soon. The console has been labeled with the text “production is scheduled to end soon” at the website, followed by “within Japan.”

It was at first unclear if the end of production in Japan will affect other markets around the world. The question was eventually answered when Nintendo of America sent a statement to Kotaku. The division confirmed that currently, all the Wii U units that will be made available in North America for Nintendo’s current fiscal year has already been shipped to the company’s retail partners.

The discovery on the official Nintendo website and the statement by Nintendo of America ends months of speculation that the company is planning to end the production of the Wii U, especially as all eyes will be on the upcoming Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Moving On From The Wii U

The fiscal year of Nintendo ends on March 2017, which means that for the next five months, all the stock found in retailers in North America for the Wii U is all that is left for the console. Once the supply runs, retailers will likely not be able to replenish them.

The end of Nintendo’s fiscal year also marks the launch of the Nintendo Switch, which is being tagged as a product that could possibly fuel the company’s return to prominence in the video game industry that it once dominated.

The latest rumors regarding the Nintendo Switch revealed that the hybrid console will be launched in the PAL region on March 17 of next year, leading to the speculation that the release date for the United States will be on March 12.

Previous reports also hinted that there is much more to the Nintendo Switch than what was revealed in the announcement video for the hybrid console. The device is said to actually be a part of a bigger ecosystem that includes add-on hardware that will expand the capabilities of the Nintendo Switch.